Bayley petitions MPs on campaign

9:00am Monday 27th November 2006

Comments (0)   Have your say »

OUR Change It! campaign to protect children from kidnap is set to win a massive boost in the House of Commons.

York MP Hugh Bayley is to table an Early Day Motion (EDM) backing The Press's call for judges to be able to place child abductors and would-be abductors on the Sex Offenders' Register.

The motion will provide an opportunity for MPs from across Britain to show their support for the campaign as it enters the final stages.

The Prime Minister said two months ago that an announcement would be made in the autumn, but there has still been no confirmation from the Home Office that it is pressing ahead with the necessary legislation.

Mr Bayley said today the motion could help to make the issue a priority as civil servants dealt with a multitude of legislative tasks.

"I have kept in close touch with the Minister's office ever since May when the Minister Vernon Coaker told me he had asked his civil servants to look at changing the law," said Mr Bayley.

"It's clear to me that the Government is going to do so. They will need to put new regulations before Parliament by laying an order, and I expect them to do so very soon.

"Later this week, I will table an Early Day Motion calling for the Government to act quickly, to show my continuing interest and support for this important change and win support from other MPs."

Mr Bayley revealed that once an order was laid, it would need to go before a committee and then be voted on in both the Commons and Lords before becoming law. A date would also have to be set for the change to come into force.

He said an EDM was effectively an "in-house petition for MPs," which could demonstrate to the Government the strength of support among backbenchers for a measure.

It could help ensure Ministers ask their civil servants to prioritise the drafting of legislation as a range of different matters compete for time and attention.

The Change It! campaign was launched in the spring after Terry Delaney tried to abduct teenager Natalie Hick from a York bus stop.

A judge jailed Delaney for four years but, because of a loophole in the law, he was unable to place him on the Sex Offenders' Register, which would have ensured he was monitored on his release.

Earlier this month, Tory leader David Cameron backed the campaign and Natalie and her mother June travelled to London days later to hand The Press's petition, signed by about 2,000 people, to the Home Office's sexual crimes expert.

The Home Office has said it is considering changing the 2003 Sexual Offences Act to allow judges the discretion to make orders against abductors and would-be abductors if there is evidence of a sexual motive.